President Vladimir Putin told Chinese President Hu Jintao during their
informal meeting at Putin's summer residence in Novoe Ogarevo that Hu's
visit to Russia "will give a new impulse" to bilateral relations,
Channel One and RTR reported on 30 June. Putin noted progress in
improving bilateral political and economic relations, saying,
"especially positive dynamics between our two countries should be
boosted by cooperation in the military sector," "Rossiiskaya gazeta"
reported on 30 June. Putin noted that in August the two countries are
to hold joint military exercises. Hu said that Chinese-Russian
relations are developing in a "new historical epoch, when the border
dispute between our two states has been resolved." On 1 July, Putin and
Hu were to hold talks almost all day at the Kremlin and sign a
declaration about the 21st-century world order, including provisions
"on the inadmissibility of claims on a monopoly in world affairs,
division of states into leading and led ones, and the imposing of one's
own model of sociopolitical development," regnum.ru reported. Speaking
to Federation Council Speaker Sergei Mironov on 30 June, Hu said that
China wants to increase its investment in the Russian economy
substantially and boost bilateral trade to $80 billion, RIA-Novosti
reported. VY

Yurii Galenovich, the leading sinologist of the Russian Academy of
Sciences' Far East Institute, said on 30 June that during President
Hu's four-day visit to Russia, he will certainly raise the issue of a
"dedicated supply of Russian oil to China," strana.ru reported. After
President Putin's recent pledge to supply millions of tons of oil to
the United States (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 27 June 2005), China expects
a Russian commitment to supply at least the same amount to China and to
construct a pipeline for this purpose, Galenovich said. Another point
for discussion is the emerging alliance among Russia, China, and India,
which last month held a special meeting of their foreign ministers in
Vladivostok (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 2 June 2005). Galenovich added that
the presence of Russia helps China and India to settle their own
conflicts. The biggest problem between Russia and China is that
ordinary Russians and Chinese continue to mistrust each other,
Galenovich concluded. VY

While relations between Russian and Chinese leaders may be better than
ever, the ordinary citizens of both countries, as well as low-ranking
officials, continue to perceive each other with suspicion and mistrust,
TV-Tsentr commented on 30 June. Only 8 percent of Russians see China as
a friend, while 45 percent view it as an adversary. At the same time,
47 percent of Russians consider China a model for success. Chinese
immigration into the Far East and Siberia is a real problem, TV-Tsentr
added. While Russia badly needs Chinese labor, if the Chinese begin to
explore the regions too enthusiastically, the question of "who is the
boss in Siberia" will become a rhetorical one. In addition, rising
Chinese military might concerns the Russian Army, TV-Tsentr noted. VY

The St. Petersburg City Court on 30 June convicted two of the six men
accused of the November 1998 murder of liberal Duma Deputy Galina
Starovoitova (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 April 2005), RosBalt, RTR, and
other media reported. The court sentenced Yurii Kolchin, a former
sergeant of military intelligence (GRU), to 20 years in prison as the
organizer of the killing and Vitalii Akishin to 23 1/2 years as the
actual murderer. The court acquitted the other four defendants and
released them, including Aleksei Voronin, who pled guilty. Judge
Valentina Kudryashova said that Starovoitova's killing was a "terrorist
act against an elected public official" and that it was "a politically
motivated crime." She failed, however, to explain the motivation but
added that she came to her conclusion "by the process of elimination,"
"Kommersant-Daily" reported on 30 June. Finally, Kudryashova said the
person who ordered the killing remains unidentified. Observers note
that information about the trial proceedings is fragmentary. The
investigation was carried out by the Federal Security Service (FSB) in
St. Petersburg, the case was reviewed not by jury but by a single
judge, and the announcement of the verdict was the only open hearing
during the 18 months of the trial proceedings. VY

Justice Minister Yurii Chaika announced on 30 June that Russia has
asked law-enforcement agencies in Lithuania and the Netherlands to
freeze Yukos assets in their countries because Yukos owes $2 billion in
back taxes, newsru.com reported. Chaika said that the Russian request
concerned transactions with shares of Yukos-affiliated companies and in
particular Lithuania's Mazeikiu Nafta (Mazeikiai Oil) refinery, of
which Yukos owns 53.7 percent. The Lithuanian government holds 40.6
percent. Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas said that
Lithuania had yet to receive the Russian request, but that when it did,
it would react "with difficulty," newsru.com reported. Lithuanian
President Valdas Adamkus on 29 June described the Russian request as
interference in his country's internal affairs. VY

President Putin on 30 June issued a decree altering the procedure for
considering candidates for chief executive posts in regions of the
Russian Federation, gazeta.ru reported. An earlier decree called for
the Kremlin chief of staff, along with presidential envoys to the seven
federal districts, to nominate at least two candidates for each
position to the president, who would then choose a candidate to present
for confirmation by the regional legislature (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28
December 2004). According to gazeta.ru, the new procedure will allow
envoys in the federal districts to nominate candidates without
coordinating with the president's chief of staff. In addition, the
envoys will no longer be forced to nominate at least two candidates for
each top regional post. Finally, the new decree applies the same
procedure for selecting all regional leaders. Previously, leaders who
asked Putin for a vote of confidence well before their terms were due
to expire were able to go through an expedited appointment process,
facing less scrutiny from presidential envoys. LB

[07] ...AND ALLOWS ELECTED OFFICIALS TO SERVE SIMULTANEOUSLY IN LOCAL
AND REGIONAL BODIES

President Putin on 30 June signed legislation that will permit elected
officials in bodies of local self-government to serve simultaneously in
regional legislatures, gazeta.ru reported, citing the presidential
press service. The legislation in question amends the law on basic
guarantees of electoral rights and the law on general principles of
local self-government. Also on 30 June, Putin submitted to the State
Duma a draft law that would create a new Russian Federation subject by
merging Krasnoyarsk Krai, Evenk Autonomous Okrug, and Taimyr Autonomous
Okrug, Interfax reported. Earlier this year, voters in each of those
regions approved referendums on the proposed merger (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 18 April 2005 and "RFE/RL Russian Political Weekly," 22
April 2005). The new region will be called Krasnoyarsk Krai, and the
draft law Putin submitted calls for completing the process of forming
state bodies in the new region by 31 December 2007. LB

Central Election Commission (TsIK) Chairman Aleksandr Veshnyakov
asserted on 30 June that speedy and trustworthy tabulation of votes is
the key to preventing a popular uprising against the regime, Russian
media reported. Addressing a Moscow meeting of the heads of regional
election commissions, Veshnyakov mentioned several cases in which local
or regional election officials in the Russian Federation falsified
results, only to receive small fines or have criminal investigations
closed without prosecution or conviction. Veshnyakov concluded that
"inappropriate light punishments discredit the authorities and give the
opposition serious arguments for discrediting elections in Russia.
Analysis of the so-called 'colored revolutions' in several CIS
countries shows that one of the causes is society's loss of trust in
the organs that administer elections," "Kommersant-Daily" reported on 1
July. Veshnyakov called for prosecutors and courts to toughen the
criminal and administrative penalties for violating election laws. LB

Speaking to the same gathering of regional election officials,
presidential-administration head Dmitrii Medvedev agreed that faulty
vote counting may serve as a source of political instability," Russian
media reported. He argued that "the inability of election
administrators to efficiently and fully present election results to the
public may be used in political battles and [may] lead to all kinds of
different results for the state," including "destabilization," RTR
reported on 30 June. But whereas TsIK head Veshnyakov focused on
tougher penalties in order to deter election fraud, Medvedev advocated
further development and use of the electronic vote-counting system
GAS-Vybory as the solution to the problem. Opposition politicians have
charged for nearly a decade that the GAS-Vybory tabulations are not
transparent and that officials can easily tamper with the results (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 23 January 2004). In fact, Radio Rosiii reported on
30 June that Veshnyakov's speech about the need to impose greater
punishment for electoral fraud included examples of local officials
typing inaccurate results into the GAS-Vybory system. LB

Audit Chamber Chairman Sergei Stepashin on 29 June presented the annual
report on the chamber's work to Duma deputies, Russian media reported.
According to his report, summarized in "Rossiiskaya gazeta" on 30 June,
the chamber audited some 1,450 entities in 2004, uncovering evidence
that served as the basis for 299 criminal cases, 20 percent more than
in 2003. The financial violations uncovered involved some 150 billion
rubles ($5.2 billion), and resulted in more than 34 billion rubles
being returned to the budget, four times more than the corresponding
amount in 2003. Stepashin added that the chamber "closed enormous
holes, so-called 'internal off-shores,'" which previously cost the
Russian budget some $10 billion to $12 billion annually. Alluding to
the recent conviction of former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovskii,
Stepashin added: "Large oil companies used the very intellectual, it
would seem, phrase 'minimizing of taxes.' Well, one 'minimizer' is now
sitting [in prison]," NTV and Radio Mayak reported. However, Stepashin
estimated that tax evasion still reduces the country's tax receipts by
approximately 30 percent. Commenting on the chamber's analysis of
Russian privatization policy from 1993 to 2003, Stepashin characterized
that policy as "the most unsuccessful path of privatization in all of
Eastern Europe." LB

An independent monitoring group comprised of representatives of a dozen
NGOs and the Armenian Apostolic Church issued a report on 30 June
calling on the Armenian government to address the "unsatisfactory"
conditions in the country's penal institutions, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau
reported. The report, based on a yearlong series of inspections of
Armenian prisons, found that prisoners are forced to endure
overcrowding and often deplorable living conditions, including
inadequate food, water, and lighting, and an overall lack of proper
sanitation. Oversight and management of Armenian prisons were
transferred from the jurisdiction of the police to the Justice Ministry
in 2002 in accordance with the recommendations of the Council of
Europe. A Justice Ministry official responsible for penal conditions,
Samvel Hovannisian, noted that the report's findings were generally
accurate but explained that the Armenian government lacks the necessary
funding needed to introduce serious improvements in living conditions.
RG

The Armenian Finance Ministry released a report on 30 June detailing
continued improvements in the overall rate of tax collection, RFE/RL's
Yerevan bureau reported. The report cited a nearly 25 percent increase
in proceeds from the collection of various taxes and customs duties,
which it explained was the result of continuing economic growth,
improved tax and customs administration, and a crackdown on endemic tax
evasion initiated in January 2005. The report estimated overall tax
collection at 134.4 billion drams ($300 million) for the first five
months of the year, or almost 40 percent of the annual state budget
target, and stressed that the improved tax collection ensures that the
Armenian government will meet its increased expenditure targets.
Armenia's excise and value-added tax (VAT) continue to be the principal
source of government tax revenues, accounting for almost 60 percent of
the total. RG

The Armenian Finance Ministry's 30 June report also revealed the
continued problems with the serious underreporting of corporate taxes,
according to RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau. Although there is a state effort
to improve the collection of corporate income tax, profit tax revenues
barely rose in the last few years despite double-digit rates of
economic growth and, despite a surge in revenues of 72 percent during
the first five months of 2005, accounted for a mere 16.8 percent of
overall tax proceeds. This problem was also reflected in an earlier
government listing of the largest 300 Armenian corporate taxpayers,
which revealed that two-thirds paid less than $20,000 in profit tax
during the first quarter of 2005. Notably absent from that list,
however, were companies and monopoly groups controlled by wealthy
government-connected oligarchs and even members of parliament. RG

The newly elected parliament of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic held its first session on 30 June and elected a new
leadership, Mediamax and Caucasus Press reported. The new parliament
elected former Foreign Minister Ashot Ghulian as speaker and Rudik
Hyusnunts as deputy speaker. Ghulian resigned as education and culture
minister, a position he assumed following his tenure as foreign
minister from October 2002 to December 2004. The composition of the new
Karabakh parliament reflects changes in the parliamentary election of
19 June that resulted in an overwhelming pro-government majority. The
main opposition group, an alliance comprised of the local branch of the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutiun (HHD) and the Movement
88 party, secured only three seats in the new 33-seat parliament and
another eight deputies are officially independent. Ghulian is the head
of the pro-government Democratic Party of Artsakh (AZhK), which holds
12 seats, and Hyusnunts is a senior member of the pro-government Azat
Hayrenik (Free Fatherland) party, which holds 10 parliamentary seats.
The Karabakh election was tainted, however, by an assault on HHD
candidate Pavel Manukian by senior military officers (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 22, 23, and 27 June 2005) RG

[15] TURKISH PREMIER REAFFIRMS SUPPORT FOR AZERBAIJANI POSITION ON
NAGORNO-KARABAKH

Visiting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged on 30 June
to uphold Turkish support for Azerbaijan's position on the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, ANS-TV and RFE/RL's Armenian Service
reported. Erdogan reaffirmed that any normalization of Turkish-Armenian
relations will continue to remain conditional on the withdrawal of
Armenian forces from all areas of Azerbaijan. President Ilham Aliyev
also promised to "help northern Cyprus to find a way out of isolation"
by granting diplomatic recognition of passports issued by northern
Cyprus and announced that a delegation of Azerbaijani businessmen will
be sent to northern Cyprus, Turan reported. In response to a question
during a press conference on the last day of his state visit to
Azerbaijan, Erdogan said that the transfer of Russian military
equipment from bases in Georgia to Armenia is "an internal affair of
Russia," Caucasus Press reported. RG

A delegation of 10 diplomats from the Council of Europe Committee of
Ministers, known as the Ago Group, held a press conference in Baku on
30 June to report on its visit to Azerbaijan, Turan and Lider TV
reported. The Council of Europe delegation, led by German diplomat
Roland Wegener, met with human rights activists, opposition leaders,
and various government officials. The delegation assessed the
Azerbaijani government's human rights record, inspected the country's
prison facilities, and reviewed electoral preparations for Azerbaijan's
parliamentary elections set for November 2005. The delegation praised
the Azerbaijani authorities for releasing a group of 30 political
prisoners and noted the judicial release of another four detainees
classified as political prisoners. RG

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili appointed Economy Minister
Aleksi Aleksishvili as the new finance minister on 30 June, Imedi TV
and Caucasus Press reported. The appointment follows the dismissal of
Valeri Chechelashvili the day before amid a widening bribery scandal
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 June 2005). Georgian Prime Minister Zurab
Noghaideli also announced on 30 June that Irakli Chogovadze has been
appointed the new economy minister. Prior to his appointment,
Chogovadze served as the head of the agency for state property
management. Reacting to the appointment of Aleksishvili as finance
minister, opposition Conservative Party of Georgia leader Zviad
Dzidziguri condemned the move as a "great mistake" and accused
Aleksishvili of being involved in corruption related to a tender for a
construction project at Tbilisi airport. RG

Supporters of popular Georgian wrestlers Aleksi Davitashvili and Giorgi
Revazishvili staged a demonstration in central Tbilisi on 30 June to
protest a court ruling sentencing the wrestlers to three months
pretrial detention, Rustavi-2 television reported. The two wrestlers
were arrested on 28 June for allegedly extorting money from an ethnic
Georgian Greek businessman. The demonstration was forcibly dispersed
after several attempts by special masked units of riot police to break
up the protest. RG

Several opposition parliamentarians, including New Rightists leader
Davit Gamkrelidze, Conservative Party leader Koba Davitashvili, and
Republican Party head Levan Berdzenishvili, arrived late on 30 June at
the scene of the demonstration and strongly condemned the police for
overreacting, Rustavi-2 reported. Berdzenishvili accused the Georgian
government of committing "a crime against humanity" after police and
masked troops forcibly dispersed the crowd, adding that "people have
chosen this form of protest against a court's decision. Whether we like
it or not, people have the right to protest. No one had the right to
assault protesters using these violent methods," Imedi TV reported. RG

Arriving in Tbilisi at the start of a two-day official visit, Ukrainian
Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk met on 30 June with President
Saakashvili, Prime Minister Noghaideli, and Foreign Minister Salome
Zurabishvili, Interfax and Georgian TV reported. Tarasyuk signed a new
bilateral accord pledging support for Georgia's "European and
Euro-Atlantic integration" and reviewed plans for the expansion of the
GUAM regional organization (comprising Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan,
and Moldova). Tarasyuk's visit is also focused on preparing for a state
visit to Georgia by Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko scheduled for
15 July. RG

The lower house of the Kazakh parliament on 29 June passed several new
amendments to the Kazakh law on national security, Interfax reported.
The amendments imposed new restrictions in several areas, including the
Criminal Code and the laws regulating the activities of religious
groups, the media and political parties. Some of the more controversial
amendments include criminal penalties for "foreign citizens" engaging
in the "financing" of political parties or conducting "activities to
promote candidates and political parties" throughout the electoral
process. An amendment covering the media specifically prohibits a
"foreigner" from holding an editorial position in a Kazakh media
outlet. RG

The Kazakh parliament voted on 29 June to adopt the government's
proposed amendments to the country's law on military service, Asia-Plus
and Interfax reported. According to Deputy Defense Minister Abay
Tasbulatov, the move, which will reduce the length of military service
from 18 to 12 months, is part of a broader military reform effort that
includes a transition of the army to a contractual volunteer-based
service. RG

. The Kyrgyz Supreme Court issued a ruling on 30 June upholding the
decision of the Central Election Commission to revoke the parliamentary
mandate of former Kyrgyz President Askar Akaev's daughter Bermet
Akaeva, Asia-Plus and Interfax reported. The ruling marks the last in a
series of appeals lodged by Akaeva, who protested the decision as "a
politically motivated ruling" and vowed to "appeal to an international
court," RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported. She secured the parliamentary
seat by a small margin during the second round of the March 2004
parliamentary election. The Kyrgyz parliament has postponed any
consideration of the mandate held by her brother, Aidar Akaev, until
September (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 June 2005). RG

The Kyrgyz Supreme Court upheld on 30 June a ruling by a lower court
disqualifying Urmat Baryktabasov as a presidential candidate, Interfax
and AKIpress reported. The original ruling was based on the legal
prohibition banning a foreign citizen from running for president after
the Kazakh Justice Ministry confirmed that he is a Kazakh citizen (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 29 June 2005). Baryktabasov, who holds dual
citizenship, has lost several appeals seeking to overturn the ban. RG

A group of three gunmen broke into the residence of the father of Tajik
National Bank Chairman Murodali Alimardonov in the early morning hours
of 30 June, Asia-Plus and RFE/RL's Tajik Service reported. The gunmen
killed one bodyguard and injured two other guards during the attack and
seized more than $7,000 in cash, Interfax reported. Tajik Interior
Ministry Major General Tohir Normatov set up a special police unit on
30 June to conduct an investigation, but stressed that it was a robbery
with no political motives. RG

A joint operation by Tajik police and United Arab Emirates special
services freed a group of 40 Tajik women on 30 June in Dubai, Asia-Plus
reported. The Tajik women, ranging between the age of 14 and 25, were
victims of an organized human-trafficking network that preys on
impoverished females from Central Asia and other former Soviet states.
The operation also resulted in the arrest of an undetermined number of
traffickers. RG

Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka on 30 June attended the
official unveiling of partly restored World War II fortifications
called the Stalin Line near Zaslaul, some 30 kilometers from Minsk,
RFE/RL's Belarus Service and Belapan reported. The renewed memorial
includes engineering installations dating from 1931-32, machine-gun
pillboxes, and some World War II weaponry. The opening ceremony before
some 10,000 spectators was followed by a theatrical battle show
involving equipment and troops clad in Nazi and Soviet uniforms of the
World War II period. JM

The Belarusian Embassy in Moscow has blasted the Council for Promoting
Civil Society and Human Rights under Russian President Vladimir Putin
for interfering in "the internal affairs of a sovereign country,"
Belapan reported on 30 June. "The anti-Belarusian initiatives of Ella
Panfilova [head of the council] and co. exemplify double standards used
by well-known opponents of our country," the embassy said in a
statement. The embassy was reacting to last week's open letter of the
council to President Lukashenka, in which the Russian group condemned
the Belarusian authorities' crackdown on nongovernmental and human
rights organizations, reluctance to bring electoral laws into line with
CIS standards, and alleged violations of the rights of Russian citizens
in Belarus (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 June 2005). "There is hardly any
other country in the world where Russians feel as comfortable as in
Belarus. The decent and kind-hearted attitude to the brotherly Russians
is a sort of litmus test of Belarusian national dignity," the
Belarusian mission's statement reads. JM

The presidents of Poland and Ukraine -- Aleksander Kwasniewski and
Viktor Yushchenko, respectively -- attended the signing of two major
deals at an annual Polish-Ukrainian economic forum in Gdynia on 30
June, Ukrainian and Polish media reported. The Industrial Union of
Donbas finalized the purchase of the Huta Czestochowa steel mill,
following a lengthy and controversial privatization duel with the
Indian-Dutch-British holding LMN in 2003-04 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5
March 2004). Moreover, Ukraine's AvtoZAZ motor company signed a deal
for the takeover -- for a symbolic 1 zloty ($0.3) -- of 20 percent of
the troubled Warsaw-based FSO carmaker's shares. AvtoZAZ has promised
that it will not lay off anyone from the 2,000-strong workforce within
the following six months. The remaining 80 percent of the shares in FSO
belong to the South Korean company Daewoo, which became insolvent in
1999. JM

Warsaw is finalizing negotiations with Kyiv on an accord that could
allow up to 200,000 Ukrainian guest workers annually to work in Poland,
the Polish daily "Rzeczpospolita" reported on 1 July, quoting an
official from the Polish Economy Ministry. "This is a part of the
Polish strategy that intends to tie Ukraine to the West as closely as
possible. The first stage of [this strategy] was the cancellation of
visa fees for Ukrainians entering Poland," an official from the Polish
Foreign Ministry told the daily. JM

President Yushchenko on 30 June issued a decree simplifying trips of
U.S. citizens to Ukraine as of 1 July. The decree, published on the
government's website (http://www.president.gov.ua), stipulates that
visas will no longer be required by U.S. citizens making a second trip
within six months, provided the new stay in Ukraine does not exceed 90
days. The document says the measure is intended to develop and
implement a "strategic partnership" between both countries. JM

Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko told journalists on 30 June than her
cabinet has approved a list of more than 10 enterprises that will soon
be offered for sale, the "Ukrayinska pravda" website
(http://www2.pravda.com.ua) reported. The list includes the
Kryvorizhskyy Ore Enriching Combine, the Odesa Port Plant, the Nikopol
Pipe Plant, the Kyiv Motorcycle Plant, and a number of hotels.
Tymoshenko also predicted that the controversial Kryvorizhstal steel
mill will be resold by the government by 24 October. Asked to comment
on Kryvorizhstal former owner Viktor Pinchuk's words that no one will
take part in the new privatization of the company as its recent
takeover by the state is being disputed in the European Court for Human
Rights (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 22 June 2005), Tymoshenko said: "What
Pinchuk said is psychotherapy for those who owned the steel mill. I
know at least five large enterprises in the world that have expressed
their interest in participating in a new auction." JM

Albanian voters are scheduled to elect a new 140-member parliament on 3
July, regional and international reported on 30 June. One hundred seats
will be elected directly, and the remaining 40 will be determined by
party lists. The latest poll gives former President Sali Berisha's
Democratic Party 35 percent against 34 percent for Prime Minister Fatos
Nano's Socialist Party, Reuters reported on 29 June. Postcommunist
Albanian politics are highly polarized between those two parties, and
the political culture is often characterized by acrimony and personal
insults. Previous elections have been marred by mutual charges of
fraud, which have not always been proven. Most leading politicians have
their roots in the communist-era elite, and many are widely regarded as
heavy handed and corrupt. Many people still consider Berisha impulsive
and blame him for the collapse of pyramid investment schemes in 1997,
which led to his resigning the presidency that year. Many Albanians
similarly regard Nano as a corrupt vestige of a communist-era old-boy
network and ill suited to 21st-century tasks. There is a broad national
consensus in support of issues such as Euro-Atlantic integration, and
differences between the two main parties often boil down to matters of
personal trust and loyalties. PM

Several smaller parties might win seats in the new legislature,
including Genci Pollo's New Democrats, who have an election pact with
Berisha's party, from which Pollo split several years ago, Reuters
reported on 29 June. Another possible kingmaker is former Socialist
Prime Minister Ilir Meta, who broke with Nano in 2004 and set up the
Socialist Integration Movement (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 September
2004). Meta has 10 percent of the vote in the latest poll and has not
committed himself to any coalition partner. He and Nano are bitter
rivals, and his price for forming a coalition with the Socialists is
likely to be that they name a prime minister other than Nano. One such
possibility is Tirana Mayor Edi Rama, who made a name for himself in
recent years by rigorously enforcing zoning legislation, improving the
quality of the streets, and liberally using color to liven up the
skyline. Rama, Pollo, and Meta are representatives of the younger
generation in Albanian politics. The EU and United States will be
closely watching the elections for evidence that Albania is overcoming
the problems that have marred earlier ballots. PM

A reported plan by U.K. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw aimed at promoting
reconciliation between Serbs, Croats, and Bosnian Muslims on the 10th
anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre on 11 July has received "an
angry rebuff from the Bosnian Muslim leadership," London's "The
Guardian" reported on 1 July. The Foreign Office has been quietly
approaching regional leaders about making a mutual declaration of
"reconciliation and apology" to mark the anniversary of the slaying of
about 8,000 mainly Muslim males by Serbian forces. The daily wrote that
"British diplomats appear to have badly misjudged the local mood,
floating the notion of a common declaration aimed at healing wounds
which, in the case of Srebrenica, remain fresh for the tens of
thousands of relatives of the dead, many of whom have yet to locate
their loved ones' remains." The paper quoted Edin Dilberovic, who is
foreign policy advisor to Sulejman Tihic, the Muslim member of the
Bosnian Presidency, as calling the proposal "completely unacceptable."
He stressed that "Srebrenica is the wrong place at the wrong time for a
declaration of reconciliation and forgiveness. Srebrenica is special.
It was a real, organized massacre. [The British] can't be serious" (see
"RFE/RL Balkan Report," 10 June and 1 July 2005). PM

Tomislav Jakic, who is a foreign policy adviser to President Stipe
Mesic of Croatia, told "The Guardian" on 1 July that the reported
British proposal regarding Srebrenica came as a surprise. "The
[British] idea is that everyone should apologize to everyone else....
It's misrepresenting what happened," he stressed. "There are only two
parties who could and should apologize in Srebrenica -- the Serbs and
the Dutch," Jakic added. Dutch peacekeepers had responsibility for
guarding the UN-declared "safe area" of Srebrenica but lacked the means
to do much in the face of Serbian armed strength. In April 2002, the
Dutch government resigned following the publication of an official
report on the fall of Srebrenica and the massacre (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 17 April 2002 and 13 May 2005). PM

The Moldovan delegation to the Joint Control Commission (JCC) has
proposed a list of measures aimed at stabilizing the situation in the
Transdniester security zone, Infotag and Flux reported on 30 June. The
delegation conditions the resumption of its participation in the JCC,
which was suspended in April, on the approval of these measures by
international mediators in the Transdniester conflict -- Russia,
Ukraine, and the OSCE. Chisinau postulates removing from the security
zone -- a long, narrow strip of land along the Dniester River
separating Transdniester from the rest of Moldova -- all Moldovan and
Transdniester border and customs checkpoints. Order in the security
zone, according to Chisinau, should be maintained by the Joint
Peacekeeping Force (Russian, Moldovan, and Transdniester troops) with
contributions from Moldovan and Transdniester police. All sides
involved in the conflict settlement should freely share information
about troops and armaments in the security zone and have trouble-free
access to all military units deployed in the area. Chisinau also
suggests resuming motor traffic over a recently repaired bridge across
the Dniester at Gura Bicului. JM

The U.S. Defense Department told RFE/RL on 30 June that a recovery team
has secured the remains of 16 U.S. military personnel who died in the
crash of their Chinook helicopter in a mountain ravine in the
northeastern Konar Province. U.S. Army Major Paul Swiergosz, a Pentagon
spokesman, told RFE/RL in Washington that the recovery team had secured
the site of the crash and that the remains of all 16 people aboard had
been secured. Swiergosz said it is too early to say whether the remains
have been removed. The crash site is in remote, rugged terrain, and
enemy fighters are in the area. The cause of the crash is under
investigation. Only 16 people were on the Chinook helicopter at the
time of the crash, according to Swiergosz. The Pentagon originally
reported that 17 people were aboard, but Swiergosz said that number was
based on an inaccurate flight manifest. The crash of the Chinook on 28
June has been widely attributed to enemy fire and the neo-Taliban has
claimed responsibility (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 June 2005). AT

Gol Mohammad, the security commander of Surkhanay District of Konar
Province, was killed on 28 June while two of his family members
received injuries, Hindukosh News Agency reported on 29 June. Gol
Mohammad was killed by an explosion apparently triggered by a
remote-control device. While Hindukosh has blamed the neo-Taliban for
the incident, no one has claimed responsibility for killing the
security chief. AT

Two teenage students were killed when a device exploded in Yaqubi
District of Khost Province on 30 June, Pajhwak News Agency reported.
Deputy police chief of Khost, Mohammad Zaman, told Pajhwak that the
explosive device was a time-bomb planted to target the district
headquarters, which is located near a school in which the students were
attending evening classes. No one has claimed responsibility for the
blast. AT

Afghan security forces, based on intelligence reports provided by
coalition forces, have arrested five Pakistani nationals in Shahr-e
Safa, Zabul Province, Peshawar-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP)
reported on 30 June. Gholam Rasul, Shahr-e Safa's security commander,
told AIP that during interrogations, the captives "confessed that they
were sent for jihad by a certain Mullah Taher in Quetta [Pakistan]."
According to Gholam Rasul, four of the detainees spoke Urdu, however
the fifth spoke a language he did not recognize. The Pakistani captives
have been handed over to U.S. forces. Afghan Interior Ministry
spokesman Lotfullah Mashal said that the detainees are "terrorists" who
were involved in the recent clashes in Kandahar Province, southwest of
Zabul, Kabul-based Tolu television reported on 30 June. AT

[42] WHITE HOUSE LOOKS INTO ALLEGATIONS THAT IRAN'S PRESIDENT-ELECT WAS
A HOSTAGE TAKER...

U.S. President George W. Bush said on 30 January that he wants to know
if allegations that President-elect Mahmud Ahmadinejad was involved in
the 1979-81 hostage crisis are accurate, Reuters reported. Several of
the Americans who were held hostage for 44 days -- including former
naval officer Donald Sharer, former army officer Charles Scott, former
Marine Kevin Hermening, and former CIA officer William Daugherty --
said they are certain that Ahmadinejad was one of their captors,
Reuters reported. The organization that seized the embassy was named
the Students Following the Imam's Line. BS

On his website, President-elect Ahmadinejad states that he was a
founding member of the Office for Strengthening Unity (DTV). Mohammad
Ali Seyyednejad, one of DTV's five founding members, said in an
exclusive interview with Radio Farda on 30 June that he and Ahmadinejad
were the only students who opposed the embassy seizure. He added,
"[Ahmadinejad and I] both agreed that the U.S. embassy should not be
occupied. This was why the issue of the embassy occupation was not
approved by the DTV's central council, and Mr. [Ebrahim] Asgharzadeh
and Mr. Mohsen Mirdamadi [two DTV central council members who supported
the planned seizure] then coordinated their activities with four
universities in Tehran [Sharif, Polytechnic, Shahid Beheshti, and
Tehran Universities] and used the name 'Students Following the Imam's
Line' to pursue the embassy occupation." According to Reuters,
Mirdamadi said, "I deny such reports. Ahmadinejad was not a member of
the radical students' group who seized the embassy." BS

President Hojatoleslam Mohammad Khatami said at a 29 ceremony in Tehran
commemorating the 1981 bombing of the Islamic Republic Party
headquarters that he has documentation on campaign and election
violations, IRNA reported. "Based on quite authentic documents, I have
prepared a detailed dossier on violations of election laws before and
during the voting [in the first and second rounds of the presidential
election]," Khatami said, adding that he would present this information
to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, judiciary chief Ayatollah
Mahmud Hashemi-Shahrudi, and President-elect Ahmadinejad. Khamenei said
in a 28 June speech in Tehran, "A number of the presidential election
candidates were subjected to unfair and cowardly defamation," state
radio reported. Khamenei said the judiciary should follow up on such
cases. However, Khamenei said allegations of interference in the
campaign and the election by the Basij Resistance Force are inaccurate.
"That is not true," he said. "The hands of the enemy are involved here
in order to create mischief and to create corruption." Losing
candidates -- including Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani -- have
complained of interference by the Basij and others (see "RFE/RL Iran
Report," 20 and 27 June 2004). BS

Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi discussed the poor state of
imprisoned journalist Akbar Ganji, who is on hunger strike, with Radio
Farda on 30 June. "Unfortunately, Mr. Ganji is still on hunger strike
and judiciary officials are not paying attention to the fact that, with
his illness, this is dangerous and Mr. Ganji is step by step getting
closer to a serious danger," Ebadi said. Ebadi reiterated that Ganji is
in danger, saying, "If no immediate action is taken he could [die]. I
ask judiciary officials and the Iranian and international public
opinion to help Ganji." One day earlier, the U.S. State Department
called for Ganji's unconditional release and the provision of medical
assistance, according to its website (http://usinfo.state.gov). "His
mistreatment in prison is a serious violation of fundamental human
rights," the statement added. BS

Kurdish lawmakers in the Iraqi National Assembly have voiced their
opposition to calls from some Shi'ite parliamentarians to delay
implementation of Article 58 of the Transitional Administrative Law
(http://www.rferl.org/specials/iraqcrisis/Iraq-interim-constitution.pdf)
until after the drafting of a permanent constitution, Kurdistan
Satellite Television reported on 30 June. The law calls on the
transitional government to "expeditiously" remedy the injustice caused
by the Hussein regime in altering the demographic character of certain
regions, including Kirkuk. "If such a proposal is raised, the Kurdistan
Coalition bloc will adopt a tough and decisive stance. We will not
accept this by any means; this issue cannot be compromised," said
parliamentarian Sa'di Berzinji from the Kurdistan Coalition list.
Fellow Kurdish parliamentarian Firyad Rewanduzi told the station that
the normalization of Kirkuk was "one of the key terms of the agreement"
between the Kurdish list and the Shi'ite-led United Iraqi Alliance
following the January elections (see "RFE/RL Iraq Report," 14 March
2005). The two parties together form a majority in the parliament. He
said a failure by the transitional government to implement Article 58
might prompt the Kurds to not vote in favor of the constitution,
adding, "Hence, we will return to where we began." KR

The Ansar Al-Sunnah Army, the Islamic Army in Iraq, and the Mujahedin
Army issued a statement on 30 June posted on the Internet
(http://www.lajnah22me.co.uk) announcing they have listed former
Electricity Minister Ayham al-Samarra'i on their hit list for
assassination. Al-Samarra'i and other Sunni leaders announced the
formation of the Council of Unity and Reconstruction of Iraq, a
political resistance group (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 June 2005). The
statement said al-Samarra'i "has exceeded the limits and gone beyond
what reason, legitimacy, and logic can accept," adding, "he has
falsified and lied about others almost every day with a face full of
impertinence and no shame." The statement claims that the United States
plans to bring the Ba'athists "back to the spotlight and power under
the name of the Iraqi resistance," adding that the United States
schemed with former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi to instruct
al-Samarra'i, a former Ba'athist, to unite Ba'athists to negotiate with
the United States for participation in the Iraqi government. The
statement advises the United States to "save your time and effort,"
because it will not succeed in pulling the carpet from under the
mujahedin. The statement concludes by claiming that assassinating
al-Samarra'i is "permissible," as well as anyone affiliated with him.
KR

Foreign Minister Hoshyar al-Zebari has asked for Turkey's patience in
Iraq's handling of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), "The New
Anatolian" reported on 30 June. Al-Zebari issued the request on the
sidelines of the Organization of the Islamic Conference summit in San'a
on 29 June, the daily reported. Turkey has called on Iraq to expel the
Turkish-Kurdish fighters from their base in northern Iraq. "The Iraqi
government's position is clear," al-Zebari told Turkish Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul, adding that Iraq will not permit any militias,
whether Iraqi or foreign, to function inside its territory. "Unlike
Saddam Hussein's policies, we won't use these groups as a weapon in
diplomacy or as a proxy to solve differences," he continued. Al-Zebari
said that Iraq's fledgling security forces are not capable of dealing
with the PKK at the moment. "Everyone's aware of the Turkish
government's concerns, which we fully understand. It is a question of
time," he added. Gul told the daily that based on al-Zebari's remarks,
he believes the Iraqi government has begun to look "more broadly rather
than locally" at Iraq's problems. KR

The United Nations Compensation Commission has completed 12 years of
work in processing claims by Iraq's neighboring states, foreign
companies, and foreign nationals for damages resulting from Iraq's 1990
invasion of Kuwait and subsequent occupation and war, the UN News
Center reported on 30 June (http://www.un.org/news). The commission, in
its final processing of claims, awarded nearly $367 million to
claimants, bringing the total compensation paid out to some $52.5
billion. The commission began its work in 1993, and reviewed more than
2.68 million claims seeking about $354 billion in compensation. The
statement said that $19.2 billion has been paid out thus far. Another
$200 million will be distributed to claimants in July. The commission
will continue to operate in order to issue payments of awards and other
"residual tasks," according to a 30 June press release on the
commission's activities posted on the Compensation Commission's website
(http://www2.unog.ch/uncc). KR

A leading Uzbek opposition figure, Muhammad Solih, is seeking to use a
visit to Washington to urge the United States and the European Union to
expand their support for democracy activists in Uzbekistan. Solih says
the events in Andijon in May demonstrate that democratization is the
only way to ensure a peaceful transition in power from the regime of
President Islam Karimov.

Solih, the exiled leader of the Erk party, told a briefing at RFE/RL on
30 June that the violent events in Andijon last month underscore the
erosion in patience of the Uzbek people toward the government.

Hundreds of mostly unarmed people are believed to have been killed
after an uprising triggered by a trial of businessmen in Andijon. Solih
said he hoped those events will move the West closer to embracing the
democracy movement in Uzbekistan as the only path toward a stable
transition of power.

"We do not ask for a lot from the West," Solih said. "We want the West
to aid the legalization of political parties in Uzbekistan. We would
like the West to aid the leaders of the opposition to function in
Uzbekistan, to ensure the conduct of fair elections in Uzbekistan and
the participation of the opposition in those elections and to ensure
the existence of a free press. This in and of itself is enough to
ensure the peaceful removal of this antidemocratic regime."

Solih announced that some key Uzbek opposition leaders have united and
formed a new group, the United Uzbek Democratic Coalition, to press
their cause. Solih was named to head the coalition.

Solih, who will be in the United States for several weeks, has held
meetings with influential members of Congress such as Ileana
Ros-Lehtinen (Republican, Florida) of the House of Representatives'
International Relations Committee. He has also met representatives of
key nongovernmental organizations that receive funding from the United
States, such as the National Democracy Institute, the International
Republican Institute, and IFES, a Washington-based election-assistance
organization.

He was also due to meet with officials of the Bush administration's
National Security Council.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe, Eurasia, Central Asia,
and the Caucasus Matthew Bryza told RFE/RL on 30 June that the United
States remains intent on guiding democratic reforms in Uzbekistan. But
he made clear that Washington is not planning to focus its interests on
opposition activists despite concerns over the actions of the Karimov
government.

Bryza said Solih's visit to Washington was coincidental and did not
reflect new ties with the Uzbek opposition. "We work across the board
with all Uzbek people -- with the government, with the political
opposition, with people in the middle. We want to work with the entire
society, as we do in the neighboring broader Middle East," Bryza said.
"And that's an enduring interest of ours, so we haven't grown any more
active in our engagement with all Uzbekistan society. Maybe the world
is paying more attention to our engagement now."

The Bush administration has repeatedly called for an independent
international inquiry into the events in Andijon. It has also talked of
possible diplomatic measures, including action at the United Nations,
but has not made any specific threats.

Solih said in testimony on 29 June before the U.S. Helsinki Commission,
a human rights monitoring agency, that Karimov's departure would not
result in a takeover of power by fundamentalist Muslims -- an argument
Karimov himself has made.

Solih later added that his movement is dedicated to peaceful change and
will not condone acts by violent extremist organizations. And he told
the RFE/RL briefing on 29 June that he has made contacts with Uzbeks
linked to government security agencies to try to ensure that any future
demonstrations are not met with violence.

"We will not bring the people out into the streets until we are sure
that the Andijon events will not be repeated," Solih said.

Meanwhile, a co-chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, Congressman
Christopher Smith (Republican, New Jersey), says he is introducing this
week the Central Asia Democracy and Human Rights Act. It will aim to
set conditions for all non-humanitarian U.S. assistance, both economic
and military, to individual governments in the region.

Such assistance would be conditioned on whether each government is
making "substantial, sustained and demonstrable progress" toward
democratization and full respect of human rights.

(Robert McMahon is an RFE/RL correspondent based in Washington, D.C.
RFE/RL's Uzbek Service Director Adolat Najimova contributed to this
report.)